A Hatake Duo Short: A Motherly Figure
by ForteGirl
Summary: Kakashi's been missing lately and Iruka and Kaede are set out to find out why. A Hatake Duo one-shot. Please R&R.


**Disclaimer and Introduction:**

Hi all! It's been a while since I've posted anything, but things have been super hectic thanks to starting college and all the work that comes with it. Anyway, this was an idea from my writing buddy, Kitsune, that I decided to expand on some. This is just a random story I did up when writer's block decided to leave me alone and I just feel like posting it.

Also, a short update from Kit and me while I'm here. For you of those who read Nightmare and enjoyed that, we're currently starting a new fanfic involving our favourite Hatake duo. We're still working out all the details and have to still get started on it, but we hope you look forward to reading it, so please, keep and eye out for that. Also, I plan on picking back up my work on Kaede's full backstory myself, so I hope you look out for that as well. I plan on doing a lot of writing over the summer and hope to get up whatever I can soon.

Oh, right, disclaimer part of this. I do not own Kakashi, Iruka or any other characters from Naruto or the series itself. They all belong to Kishimoto. Kaede, though, is mine, so no stealing.

Anyway, hope you enjoy this little short story I have for you here.

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**A Motherly Figure - A Hatake Duo Short**

Iruka stood and stretched as the clock hit the hour mark and he gave a loud groan as he stretched his arms over his head. Returning to a more relaxed pose, the Chuunin wandered mindlessly to the nearby window and peered out. It was still the middle of the day, though to him it felt like he had been doing paperwork for much longer. The sky was still a calm blue and the sun was somewhere in the middle of the sky and showed no chance of changing to more violent weather. It was rather nice out and he kind of longed to go out and wander around the village park.

He sighed though as he remembered he still had more paperwork to do and scratched the back of his head as he looked around the Academy yard. It was still empty, as it had been all day, due to the fact that it was the weekend and all the students were off at home, doing other things, and as Iruka guessed, those other things didn't include their homework.

The brown-haired teacher gave a soft smirk at that thought as he continued to scan the yard. It was then that he discovered it wasn't completely deserted, as a lone figure sat out on the tree swing. He blinked as he recognised the small figure, the messy mop of silver hair familiar to him from a mile away.

He stepped back from the window and headed out, pausing only for a minute to give his paperwork one last glance. It was then he decided it could wait and he made his way out to the front yard. He approached the figure on the swing. "Oi, Kaede-chan. What are you doing here?" The little silver hair girl looked up at him. Her green eyes were soft and sad. Iruka blinked at her expression and titled his head softly to the side. "What's wrong?"

Kaede just looked down as she shook her head gently. "It's... nothing..." She scuffed her feet around in the dirt.

"Oh, come on... What is it? You know you can tell me." Iruka bobbed down in front of her, to get down more to her eye level. "Is it something with your dad?" The little girl nodded and Iruka's mouth pulled down in a gentle frown. "Well, what's wrong?"

"The last few days... he's been gone a lot... and doesn't even seem to have time to talk to me..."

"Well, if they're missions, you know how busy he can get. It's probably nothing. You know how things go." The teacher gave the little girl a soft smile but her silver hair swaying with the shaking of her head made him frown again. "It's not that?"

"No, they're not missions... He's been going out... With like... other people," she said, looking up at him. "Like on dates or something... I don't know. He won't answer me when I try to ask."

"Kakashi's been... dating?" Iruka pulled a face. "Whatever on earth for?"

Kaede nodded and then shrugged. "I don't know... But he hasn't really been home the last few days and won't talk to me and..." She trailed off as she looked back down and continued to kick at the ground

"And?"

The little girl didn't answer the teacher immediately. She continued to fumble with her feet for another minute or two as she tried to get her thoughts in order and rocked a bit on the swing. "Well... I..." she paused again, thinking about it. "I'm afraid dad's going to find someone and not have any more time for me or something... Like he's just going to forget about me... And I want to say something, but I can't and he doesn't even have time for that and... I don't like him dating..."

Iruka blinked again at the little girl and noticed the childish pout on her face. In a way, it made him smile softly. He knew she was rather mature for her age and when she actually acted more like a kid, it was cute. He could tell she was genuinely worried about the entire thing though and he reached out and ruffled her hair. "Oh, you silly girl. Even if he did find someone, he wouldn't just go and forget about you. This doesn't sound like it was Kakashi's idea. Someone's probably said something or set him up. Anyway, even if he did find someone, remember, you were here first." He gave her a toothy grin, hoping to cheer her up.

She just flashed a weak, gentle smile in response. "Yeah, I suppose so... But... " Her face fell back into a frown.

The scarred teacher scratched at the back of his neck. "Well... How about we go find him and talk to him together. Would it help if I was there?"

Kaede shrugged as she swung slightly. "Maybe... But I don't know where he is...

"Ah... Well, that is a problem. I guess that just means we'll have to go find him, huh?" He smiled at the girl again, who looked at him with a somewhat doubtful look on her face. He cocked his head to the side before he suddenly slapped his knees as he stood up. "Right! Let's go find your dad and talk to him. I'm sure he didn't go outside the village and he shouldn't be that hard to find, right?"

Iruka extended a hand for the little Hatake and she just stared at it for a moment before taking it. He pulled her up and away from the swing and led her past the entrance to the Academy's yard. His paperwork could wait. Right now, he had a little girl who needed his help.

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The two wandered about the village, Iruka taking them to all the nicer, fancier restaurants he knew of in the area. He figured if Kakashi really was on a date, he wouldn't take a young lady to a place like Ichiraku, especially if someone else had set it all up. Then again, he did know Kakashi sometimes mentioned something about dancing, but that was probably just another one of his random excuses for being late. Iruka shrugged it off as they went to yet another place and he peered around the building. The hostess at the front approached him after a minute. "Hello there, sir. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Oh, yes, I'm sorry. I'm looking for someone. Tall guy, with silver hair and a mask. More than likely he's here with someone else as well." Iruka explained quickly.

"Oh, uhm..." The hostess seemed confused and Iruka could tell by the strange look on her face that some strange thought was being entertained in her mind.

"I have his daughter here and she's a bit distressed and wants to talk to him. I'm her teacher." He hoped that little tidbit of information would hopefully clear things up. If not, then, well, there was little he could do. He just hoped they could find Kakashi soon.

The hostess just pulled a strange face before she held up a finger. "Hold on a moment and I'll go check." She scurried off and Iruka sighed, looking down at the little girl still holding on to his hand. He smiled down at her and she glanced at him, again flashing that timid smile of hers. The hostess came back a minute or two later and shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. No one like that here."

"Ah, alright. Thank you." Iruka gave the hostess a small bow before he shepherded Kaede of the restaurant and back onto the street. He sighed again. He was starting to run out of ideas. He knew of a few places that were nice enough for a lunch or early dinner date, but to be honest, he didn't have much time for that kind of thing himself, so wasn't all caught up on the hotspots for dates. That and it was getting late. It didn't feel like they had wandered around as much as they did, but they seemed to have spent a lot of time looking for the older Hatake.

Iruka looked down both ways of the street in thought, almost as if doing so would jog his memory. He scratched the back of his head and bit his lip, but was soon pulled from his thoughts as he felt Kaede stagger some. Iruka glanced down at her. She looked a bit tired and was holding her stomach and soon, a low growl was heard.

He threw her a sympathetic look. "Hungry, huh? I guess going into all these restaurants doesn't help, does it?"

The little girl shook her head as her stomach growled again. "I skipped lunch... and missed breakfast..."

That made Iruka's eyes widen. It was strange for her to have gone so long without eating. He knew she would usually forget to eat when worried, but he didn't think this entire dating thing had her worried to that point. He figured they'd have to get that taken care of. There was no use in letting her pass out from food deprivation. "Well, how about I treat you to dinner? Ramen sound good? After we finish up there, we can check back at your house for your dad. It is getting late and he'll probably head home early to check on you." At least Iruka hoped Kakashi would head home early and not stay out that late.

"Well..." Kaede didn't want to trouble Iruka anymore than she had already, but another loud, somewhat presistant growl from her stomach made her think otherwise. "I guess that could work." She gave him a smile, this one stronger than the mere flash of a smile she gave him earlier.

Iruka just smiled in return as he headed them off. "Alright then. It's settled. Dinner and then back to your house to find your dad. Come on." He led them back over to the small ramen stand and sat down, Iruka ordering a bowl of ramen for the each of them. He found it funny he knew what Kaede liked and he wondered if Kakashi actually knew that himself.

Sometimes, even to Iruka, it did seem like Kakashi neglected the little girl, but she never really seemed to complain (though with food, she hardly ever did). She seemed content with Kakashi, but sometimes Iruka thought Kaede deserved more attention than what Kakashi could give. He didn't necessarily mean Kaede needed a mother and wasn't saying Kakashi was a bad father, but he probably could just some more help in the parenting department. In a way, he kind of understood why whoever set this entire dating thing up did what they did, but he couldn't really agree with it if it bothered Kaede that much.

Iruka swayed from this thoughts as he slurped up a stray noodle and looked over at the little girl, who was enjoying her already half-finished bowl. He smiled and leaned forward a bit. "So, how long has this been going on? Kakashi dating and all?"

Kaede swallowed her current mouthful of ramen before looking at the scarred Chuunin. "Well, a couple of nights ago, he went out I think to take some paperwork to the Hokage Tower, but was late coming home. He wasn't back when I fell asleep." Iruka knew this probably meant she had stayed up waiting for Kakashi and had passed out sometime during the night. "And the next morning, I caught him briefly before he said he had to go off somewhere, but wouldn't say where that where was."

"When he disappeared the next day, I followed him and seen him with some lady. Other than that, I don't know much else..." Kaede trailed off again as she tapped her chopsticks on the side of her bowl a few times before she went back to eating. Iruka noticed she was eating slower than she was before he asked. He frowned. Maybe he should've waited on asking.

He went back to eating, too, and they both soon finished. They sat there for a few minutes to digest before Iruka looked over at the young Hatake. "Well, are you ready to go check your house? Once we find Kakashi, we'll get all this cleared up, okay?"

Kaede nodded and they headed off towards the Hatake residence. By now, the sun was already setting and the sky was a red-orange colour, though some dark blues had started to appear in the sky as the sun disappeared over the western horizon. Kaede was holding Iruka's hand again and she found she just felt better when she did. She preferred her dad's hand (yes, she could tell the different between them), but holding Iruka's hand was the next best thing she figured.

She shook off her thoughts as they approached her house and she frowned as she noticed the windows were still dark. Iruka frowned too as Kaede opened the door, only to find a dark hallway leading into a dark living room, along with a dark kitchen and a dark staircase. Kaede even checked upstairs, only to find dark empty rooms.

The little girl didn't bother to turn on any lights as she sunk down onto the couch, expelling a long, sad sigh. Iruka frowned in the dark living room as his eyes adjusted. He could now make out Kaede's figure on the couch, along with some details. He sat down next to her and they both sat there, looking straight ahead, letting silence settle into the dark room.

Iruka scratched his nose after a few minutes and then looked down at her. "I'm sorry Kaede. Are you alright?" He couldn't read her face in the dark yet, even though his eyes were now more adjusted to the poor lighting.

"It's okay. And I'm fine," she answered, softly, playing with her hands in her lap.

The Chuunin teacher could tell the little Hatake Genin was upset. Her tone was a bit flat and plain and she hadn't looked at him or moved much at all when she answered him. "Do you want me to stay and wait with you a bit?"

"No, it's fine. I'll probably just go off to bed soon. You probably have more paperwork to do, right?"

"Well, yeah, but that can wait. I just want to make sure you're okay." Iruka leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He knew she would actually wait up again and not go to bed at all and she would probably fall asleep before Kakashi got back.

Kaede shrugged. "Yeah, I'll be fine..."

"Well... alright then." He stood up, but kept his focus on the little girl slumped into the couch. "If you need anything, you know where you can find me right?" He noticed her nodding in the darkness and he bent over and ruffled her hair. "Hey, it'll be okay. We'll find out what's going on soon, alright?" The little girl just nodded again and he gave a soft half smile as he stood back up. "Okay. I'm going to head off now. You be sure to get some rest tonight."

Again, Kaede just issued another soft nod and Iruka turned and left the dark Hatake home. It seemed even darker now in the evening lighting, the sun now fully set and the moon taking its place in the sky overhead. Iruka gave the house one last thoughtful glance before he headed off. He hoped Kakashi came back home soon. He had a little girl to tuck in.

----

The next day, Iruka found it hard for him to really concentrate on his work. He still pushed through it, but found his mind constantly straying. It was around midday already and he had heard nothing from Kaede. The brown-haired man just hoped that meant the Jounin had returned home sometime right after he had left last night. Iruka scrawled something on the paper in front of him before his hand stopped, this stop one of the many unnecessary stops of the morning.

He sat there, staring at nothing for a minute before he suddenly slapped his pen down and stood hastily walked over to the window and peered out it, making a quick scan of the front yard. Again, there was no one there and he didn't see Kaede on the swing. However, a tiny foot seen from behind the outside wall caught his eye.

Iruka left his paperwork alone on the desk again without a second though as he wandered to the Academy wall's entrance and peeked around the corner. Little Kaede sat against the wall there, her knees drawn up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them. The scarred teacher blinked at the little girl. "Kaede."

The little girl looked up at him, her eyes once again big, green and sad, but this time, they were also watery. Iruka frowned at the small girl's wet face and eyes. "Did he leave again?" She nodded. "Why are you crying?"

Kaede sniffed and wiped her eyes with her arm. "A-after he left, I waited a minute and then followed him... I saw him with some lady... a-and tried to stop him... but she just g-gave me a dirty look and p-pulled him away..." She sniffed again as her eyes started to water a bit. "A-and he didn't even stop her... or... or say anything... And j-just went off with her..."

The teacher blinked hard at the little girl's story. That didn't sound right to him. "How long ago was this? Do you know which way they headed?"

"A few minutes ago... And they were going that way..." Kaede pointed a shaky finger down the street and suddenly, Iruka grabbed her outstretched hand. He pulled her up as fast as he could without hurting her and then took off down the street, tugging her behind. "W-what are you doing? Where are we going?"

Iruka failed to answer the little girl's questions as he snaked along the village streets, dodging random people as they went along. After a few more turns, he stopped, his eyes fixtated down the street. Kaede looked around before also looking where Iruka was looking and soon saw what he saw.

Down the street a bit, Kaede could very easily make out the familiar spikey hair of her father's poking up above the heads of the other people down the street. Attached to his arm, however, was some brown-haired woman in a blue coloured kimono, seemingly chatting his ear off. However, to Kaede's dismay, he wasn't shaking her off or anything and actually didn't seem even remotely annoyed. She frowned and felt her eyes start to water again and looked down.

The teacher noticed the girl's reaction and frowned sympathetically at the little girl. Kaede felt his grip on her hand tighten some, but not so much to where it was painful. He hunched his shoulders in a slight anger and suddenly, shouted down the street. "Kakashi!"

The entire street seemed to go silent and still then as everyone looked at Iruka. Kaede looked up with wide, surprised green eyes and Iruka yelled again. "Kakashi! Stop!" Kaede looked down the street and watched as her father and his current arm-warmer of a date turned and looked at the two of them. Iruka then gave Kaede's hand another tug as he briskly walked down the street and Kaede frowned as the other woman threw them both a dirty look. She did all she could to hide behind Iruka.

Iruka stopped in front of the two and Kakashi blinked at the brown-haired man. "Oh, Iruka-sensei. Good afternoon." Iruka said nothing as he glared at Kakashi. "Is... there something wrong?" Kakashi then looked down at Kaede who stood behind Iruka. She looked away when she noticed her father looking at her. His expression remained the same.

"Yes, Kakashi, there is something wrong," Iruka growled. "What are you doing? Going off and ignoring your daughter?" Iruka noticed Kakashi's 'date' was now glaring at him instead of the little girl still clutching his hand. He just gave her a stone solid look back. "What's with all this?"

"Well, I..."

"Well what, Kakashi?"

There was a semi-silence between the two men before the other woman tugged on Kakashi's arm. "Kakashi," she whined. "What's going on here? Are we still going to get something to eat?"

Kakashi blinked then, but didn't look at his 'date'. He instead looked down at the little girl behind the Chuunin death glaring him. "I..." He looked up at Iruka and then back at Kaede before he looked at the woman attached to his arm. "I'm sorry..." he apologised as he weaseled his arm from her grasp. "I have to look after my daughter."

The woman just threw Kakashi a shocked look, which he returned with that signature hound-ish one of his. She then closed her mouth before shooting more dirty looks at Iruka and Kaede before she stomped off. Kakashi remained indifferent at she left and as soon as she was gone, he rutned and bobbed down to Kaede's level.

The little Hatake peered out from behind Iruka, who had his free hand on his hip and was still looking down at Kakashi with at that disapproving glare of his. The masked man ignored it though as he looked at his daugher, his one visible eye apologetic. She could tell he was frowning. "Have I... been ignoring you, chibi?"

Kaede didn't answer straight away, but after a minute or two, nodded gently. Kakashi frowned deeper as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm sorry. I... I didn't mean to. This entire thing wasn't really my idea," he explained. "I went out to turn in that paperwork and Anko and them... well, they're ended up roping me into this. I tried to turn it down, but... I don't really know what to say." He looked at the girl and she noticed the corners of his mouth pull. It was something he did when he was trying to say sorry, but didn't want to make it sound like he was making up excuses. "I'm sorry Kaede."

She just looked down slightly before she glanced up at Iruka. He gave her a softer look than what he had been giving Kakashi and he felt her hand in his adjust slightly. It was a signal that she was fine to let go now and his grip loosened around her hand. She pulled away and Iruka watched as the little girl hugged the other man and he gave the two of them a mixed look. It was half sympathetic for little Kaede, but still stern for Kakashi. He needed to learn he couldn't just get pulled into stupid stuff like this by his friends.

Kakashi noticed Iruka's expression, which didn't change when the Chuunin realised the Jounin acknowledged it. He then turned his attention back to Kaede and hugged her back. "I'm sorry," he said again.

"It's okay," she said in reply. "I... just thought you forgot about me..."

Kakashi pulled the little girl away a bit, his face shocked. "Me? Forget about you? No, never. I'm sorry I made you feel that way though. I just... I don't have an excuse." Kakashi frowned then and Kaede shook her head, dismissing it. The silver haired man made another face before he looked back up at Iruka. "Thank you, Iruka-sensei."

Iruka's stern look then left his face at the thanks. His hand dropped from his hip as he was caught off guard. "What for?"

"For taking care of Kaede. I guess I still do need some help, huh?" He gave the Chuunin, who still stood there now a bit dazed, a soft smile. "I'm glad I can count on you to be there for her."

"Well.. yeah, of course," Iruka nodded mindlessly before he shook his head, snapping back to more reasonable thoughts. "But you need to be more responsible! I can't do all the work, you know! You're Kaede's father!"

Kakashi laughed at Iruka's reaction. He scooped the little girl up in his arms as he stood up. "Yeah.. I'm sorry. I suppose you're right." Iruka threw Kakashi another look and he chuckled again. "I'm kidding. I know. I'll have to do better next time. Right, chibi?" Kakashi smiled at the little girl who just nodded. "How about some ice cream before we head home? There was another nod from the young girl and then Kakashi turned to Iruka. "Are you coming, too, Iruka-sensei?" He flashed a hidden smile at the other man, who jumped in a slight shock at the sudden question. The brown-haired man calmed down though and then nodded as well.

"Sure, why not. I guess this way I can make sure you at least do this right." He gave Kakashi a grin and the three of them walked off. After a minute or two, Kakashi chuckled and Iruka looked at him. "What's so funny?"

Kakashi just looked over at Iruka, another smirk on his face behind his mask. "Anko and all them were wrong. Kaede doesn't need a mother." He gave chuckle and then beamed half jokingly. "She's got you."

Iruka's eyes widened at that comment and his face went a soft red. He blinked, dazed but then he went off at the other man, who now had a funny gleam in his eye. "What? What's with that look? What are you saying, Kakashi?" The Jounin just laughed as he continued down the street, the brown-haired man still throwing a fit as they went along.

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Hope you enjoyed this short story for our favourite Hatake Duo! I hope to get more stuff up for you guys soon and I hope you keep and eye out for Kitsune and mine's next fic that we're currently working on. Please review, as I enjoy your feedback and I hope you guys get around to reading my other work I have up on here.  
Thanks again! Until next time!


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